In this era of social media, “going viral” often is touted as a get-rich-quick scheme, while branded content seems a comparatively slow return on investment.
Many companies dream that a post will go viral in the magic of the app algorithm, garnering millions of views, shares, and engagement. Sometimes posts even attract attention from legacy media, increasing their reach.
Companies hope that the viral post will draw interest in their products across the web and the globe. But these viral posts are often like fireworks, sparking lots of attention, but fizzling out not long after. With one-hit-wonder posts, there’s no guarantee that the message is hitting the right note with the right audience.
If all you’re after is awareness, then perhaps “going viral” is the right goal for your business.
However, if you’re looking to convert awareness to sales and sales into repeat customers, your goal should be to produce branded content.
Fantastic content marketing will benefit your company in the long term, whether or not you become a social media icon. And if you do have a post that goes viral, you’ll have expansive background content to which to funnel those new views.
Sure, you’ll want to optimize for social, but your primary plan should be to consistently create on-brand content that is relevant to your target audience.
Understanding branded content
First, let’s start at the beginning. What is branded content?
Branded content is a marketing strategy that focuses on storytelling, emotional connections, and authentic messages. Branded content is less about your product or service and more about how you are a benefit to a potential customer.
This storytelling approach is more effective than past product-based ads, as stories resonate better with audiences. Stories build connections and emotional ties that build a relationship between brand and customer goals.
Stories instill a sense of purpose and meaning, making the brands more than a company selling a product.
Even if evidence, tests, and comparisons show that your product is the best out there, stories can aid your promotions. “Stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone,” says Dr. Jennifer Aaker, a behavioral scientist at Stanford.
Branded content is more than catchy slogans or cool visuals, it’s a showcase of your values and invitation to connect with people who share them.
Benefits of content marketing
A marketing strategy that includes branded content is more likely to be more trusted by consumers and they are more likely to have better brand recall. The key to long-term brand health is building and maintaining trust with your audience.
In Nielsen’s “Trust in Advertising” study, 88% of global respondents trust recommendations from people they know more than any other channel. Branded content is a way for businesses to create a familiarity that feels like a friend or advisor instead of a corporation.
A Time Inc. study showed that two-thirds of consumers trust branded content more than traditional display ads. That increases, according to Nielsen, when the content is written by professional journalists and distributed by major publishers.
This type of content marketing builds brand loyalty, building the foundation of a sales relationship that encourages repeat buys.
Using storytelling techniques in your branded content
When you’re ready to start working on creating content for your brand, consider these five ways you can make your message shine.
1. Build awareness
This content is your way of showing your values and mission. Why is it that you do what you do? How can you help your customers? What problem do you solve?
Offer guidance to establish your credibility as a leader but avoid being self-promotional. The focus here should be on how you can improve the lives of your customers.
Content establishing brand awareness and identity will help your business become more memorable.
2. Engage with a target audience
No brand can be everything to everyone. If you have a specific customer in mind, which you should have after creating a buyer persona, you can tailor your message to address their unique needs and values.
You want your messages to feel authentic and genuine. Look at your data to find out what resonates with your audience and what they are searching to learn more about. You want your story to feel relatable to your target customers.
3. Provide detailed information on your product or service
Once you have established a relationship with a customer and they become a buyer, you want them to buy from you again. Showing how to make the most out of what you’re offering is one way you can ensure that your product is actually helping them and not just another headache to troubleshoot.
Tutorials are a great way to highlight special features in a way that serves your customer instead of coming across as being promotional.
Testimonials or case studies can also show how you address a need but explain how similar customers are using your services.
4. Establish thought leadership
By showcasing your knowledge of your customer’s pain points and providing solutions to resolve them, you position yourself as an industry expert. You validate their concerns, make them feel seen, and explain the steps they can take to address those issues.
Businesses can use their website, custom publications, and social to share this information. One way to grow credibility is by offering to provide guest content to relevant partner brands or media companies. This benefits them with quality content, and you can expand your reach. Partnering with trusted brands can position you as a thought leader in your industry.
Guest post partnerships also help establish credibility for your owned properties. If you offer space to other creators or publishers to contribute content on your platforms it helps extend their trustworthiness to your image.
Sharing link-backs between content sites is also a great way to improve your SEO rankings.
5. Break free of ad fatigue
With ads in print media, television, social media, websites, and pretty much everywhere, people are overwhelmed and exhausted from sales messaging. When possible, they scroll on, skip, or fast-forward through commercials.
When a consumer interacts with branded content, their brand recall is up to 59% higher than with display ads, and viewers are 14% more likely to seek out information about the brand in the future.
Branded content offers a welcome reprieve from the noise of traditional advertising.
Ready to elevate your brand with engaging, authentic stories? Contact us today for help from our team of expert writers and editors to learn more about branded content and how we can use our family of publications to amplify your message.